By Andrew Cutler
March 12 2009

E.J Viso turned alot of heads in the IndyCar world last year. His seemingly fearless - and some say occasionally reckless - approach to driving probably won him an equal number of fans and critics. Now the 23 year-old Venezuelan heads into his second season in the series with high hopes of challenging for a spot near the top of the standings.

“The expectations for the new season are much higher than last year because we have our first season under our belts and that means a lot,” EJ recently told reporters, “Last year, we started the season with no knowledge at all – of anything. All the tracks were new for us, especially the ovals. It's something that's very different to what I used to know to do.... A realistic position for the end of [this] season is going to be to finish in the top eight. That would be a good achievement for us. Obviously, however, some podiums are possible for us too.”

One thing that both Viso & his boss, HVM Racing owner Keith Wiggins, hoped to have in place to help with the squad's developement for 2009 was a second car & driver, specificially Robert Doornbos. However, that fell through when the Dutchman opted instead to sign with N/H/L instead.

But that doesn't mean the chance for HVM to field a second entry in 2009 are necessarily dead: Former Rahal-Letterman Racing driver Ryan Hunter-Reay has recently disclosed that HVM is one of two teams that he is talking to, although discussions are still in an early phase.      

As for gaining something of a "reputation" as a dangerous driver last year, Viso tries to keep it all in perspective. “This ...is the way I've raced all my life. Racing is a risky sport, everyone knows that, but I didn't mean to make anybody angry. I also don't think you need to give anything to anybody here. You need to respect and get to that line of respect and the limit, and that's where I like to be."